Matthew Casey: The New York mosque - rights vs. what is right

Thursday

Aug 26, 2010 at 12:01 AMAug 26, 2010 at 11:30 PM

Media and political figures have succeeded in working themselves into a frenzy over the so-called “Ground Zero mosque,” the controversial plan to build a Muslim community center two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center in New York.

Matthew Casey

Media and political figures have succeeded in working themselves into a frenzy over the so-called “Ground Zero mosque,” the controversial plan to build a Muslim community center two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center in New York.

If you’re wondering why so much national attention is being focused on a zoning issue in a city where 99.47 percent of Americans don’t live, don’t forget: There’s an election coming up.

The longer our politicians and their media lapdogs can divert our attention with this kind of political red meat, the longer they can avoid admitting that they have no real solutions for the sputtering economy, high unemployment and soaring budget deficits.

That said, the issue does raise some compelling questions about our nation and its values.

The center of the dispute is the former site of a Burlington Coat Factory located two blocks from the northeast corner of the World Trade Center. A Muslim real estate company associated with the Cordoba Initiative, a non-profit Islamic organization, purchased the property with the intention of demolishing the existing structure and replacing it with an Islamic community center.

The proposed center, which will be open to all New Yorkers, will include an auditorium, theater, basketball court, swimming pool, childcare center, restaurant, culinary school — and most controversially — a mosque.

Because the terrorists who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks were Muslim, opposition has arisen due to the close proximity of the proposed cultural center to the World Trade Center. While polls indicate that up to 70 percent of Americans oppose the community center, 53 percent of Manhattan residents support it.

Of course, our rights are not determined by polls or popular opinion — that’s why they’re called “rights.” The government has no business telling any American where or when they should be able to practice their religion. The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the establishment clause of the First Amendment ensure that the Cordoba Initiative can use its private property as it wishes.

While many reasons for opposing the development have been offered, in reality, there is only one: the people building it are Muslim.

The Islamic extremists responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks represent an infinitesimal fraction of the Muslim population; the other 1.3 billion should not be presumed guilty by association.

The average Muslim has no more in common with terrorists than the average Catholic has in common with pedophilic priests or the average Christian has in common with members of the Hutaree militia.

Those who wish to build the Islamic cultural center did not attack New York — they live in New York. More than 800,000 Muslims reside in New York City; they worship at more than 100 mosques, at least 17 of which are located in Manhattan. The Cordoba Initiative has been active in Lower Manhattan for 25 years. The Masjid Mosque, established before the Twin Towers were built, is just four blocks from the World Trade Center.

As many as 15,000 Muslim Americans currently serve in the United States military, and hundreds have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. When they return home, they have the right to worship as freely as any other American.

Regardless, the Cordoba Institute may end up learning an ironic and painful lesson in freedom: Sometimes having the right to do something doesn’t always make it the right thing to do.

The organization has repeatedly stated that it wishes to construct the Islamic center to help improve relations between Muslims and their neighbors. It is clear that their chosen course of action, as justified and well-intentioned as it may be, will make it more difficult to fulfill their stated objective.

While some of those opposed to the mosque are clearly exploiting the situation to project their xenophobic hysteria or pursue their political ambitions, that is not the case for all. Sept. 11 was an atrocity of historic proportions, and many suffered wounds that will never heal.

While they harbor no explicit hatred of Muslims, many simply cannot separate the events of that day from the situation unfolding today in Lower Manhattan. It is understandable. They are human.

These are exactly the people Cordoba needs to reach in order to accomplish its goal, but their current actions could push them away forever. Taking the high road and presenting a more conciliatory tone would serve them well.

If Cordoba offered to actively partner and share the site with other community and religious organizations, they could still accomplish their objectives, alleviate some of the discord caused by the present situation, and help foster a spirit of understanding.

Legal issues aside, you sometimes win an argument not by proving yourself to be right, but by showing understanding and compassion when it’s not required.